Flying Alonso gives Renault glimmer of hope

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Renault's Fernando Alonso has given his team's season a glimmer of hope after flying through testing in Barcelona.

The French team has struggled this year, the two-times world champion Alonso barely hiding his frustration with his car's lack of speed.

Renault are currently sixth in the contractors' championship, with Alonso's best finish a fourth in the trouble-plagued opening Australian Grand Prix. He finished 10th in the last grand prix in Bahrain and is ninth in the drivers' championship.

However, on the third day of testing in Barcelona Alonso, running on slick tires, set the fastest lap time of 1:18.483.

Retired seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, test driving for Ferrari, was next fastest nearly a second behind.

Alonso, for the first time this season, expressed his pleasure with the car.

"It has been good and I was happy with the developments... but we still need to keep improving because it seems that our competitors have also improved and so it is still difficult to say how we really compare with them."

Christian Silk, Renault's chief test engineer, said "overall" they were "happy" with the test.

"We have had three days and completed most of what we wanted to achieve."

However, Alonso still expressed a note of caution.

"We have till wait until next week [Spanish Grand Prix] to get a full picture of where we stand. It was fun to try the slick tires, which gave very good grip."

The Spaniard was one of many drivers to hail the slick tires, which will return to use in Formula One next year.

Force India test driver Vitantonio Liuzzi said the tires were "amazing", providing excellent grip compared to the grooved tires currently used.

Formula One switched to grooved tires in 1998 in an attempt to improve the racing spectacle by reducing cornering speeds.

A slick tire is made using very soft rubber and has no tread on its surface to promote maximum possible grip. It allows teams to configure their cars with a lot less downforce, and produces quicker times.

Many of the teams have been testing the slicks in Barcelona ahead of their reintroduction, with lap times falling as a result.

Toyota's Timo Glock said testing the new tires had been a valuable experience.

"We gathered some important information but we still need to learn more." E-mail to a friend

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